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Opinions

All court opinions may be accessed at no charge via PACER through the "Written Opinions" link on the Reports page. You must, however, have an account to access the report via CM/ECF or PACER.

Access to opinions from 1997 to present, that are PDF searchable, unrestricted & unsealed, are also available through the Government Printing Office using the Advanced Search for Government Publications. There is no login required and publications are available free of charge.

Court's Web Site Opinions Database

The court's web site provides free access of some opinions, at the discretion of the judges, for the years 1998 to present. The results shown below are automatically displayed for all years, all judges, and all keywords/topics.

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Creditor sought summary judgment denying debtor's discharge, primarily for failing to disclose certain alimony and child support rights and payments. The court denied the motion, finding there were fact issues about the debtor's intent when she failed to disclose the rights and payments, and about the materiality of such failures.

Creditor granted relief from the automatic stay to obtain possession of Santa Fe house from the Chapter 11 debtor in possession. The Debtor's interest in the house was foreclosed pre-petition, and the house sold by a special master. Despite losing ownership, the debtor continued to live in the house and rent it out to tenants, seeking bankruptcy protection when threatened with a writ of assistance to evict her.

Summary: The Barton doctrine requires parties to obtain permission from the bankruptcy court before suing a case trustee for actions taken in the course of his or her official duties. In order to obtain such permission, the movant must make a prima facie case showing that the claim is not without foundation. Adv. No. 12-1139 (Bankr.D.N.M. February 14, 2014).

In the context of mandatory abstention under 28 U.S.C. § 1334(c)(2), timely adjudication depends on a number of factors including the relative backlog of the state and federal calendars, the complexity of the case, the expertise of each forum, jurisdictional issues, and whether, and to what extent, remanding the case would impact the bankruptcy estate. The Court declined to consider the timeliness of the entire state court appellate system, rather than just the state trial court, in determining the relative speed with which the state and federal courts could be expected to proceed. Adv. No. 12-1305 (Bankr.D.N.M. February 11, 2014).

Bank objected to hotel debtor's proposed 100% plan of reorganization on feasibility grounds. The Court took evidence and found that the debtor had carried its burden of proving that the plan offered a reasonable prospect of success and is workable. The Court confirmed the plan and denied the Bank's motion to dismiss.

Discharge denied under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(A) based on debtors’ formation of limited liability company after a trial was set on the creditor’s claims and funding the LLC after the creditor obtained a judgment against the debtors. Hinder, delay, or defraud under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(A) is a unitary standard. AP No. 12-1312 Docket No. 44.

Court dismissed chapter 13 case because the debtor refused to propose a plan with monthly payments sufficient to pay all priority claims (including a substantial domestic support obligation claim). Court declined to dismiss the case with prejudice, finding that the case had not been filed or prosecuted in bad faith. Court declined to award creditor attorney fees because there was insufficient evidence to warrant an award. Finally, court ordered funds held by the chapter 13 trustee to be paid to debtor's counsel, rather than DSO creditor, per sec. 1326(a).